BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Oct. 28, 2000 — The lobby of the Beverly Hills Hilton was transformed into a Who’s Who of entertainment as some of the biggest names turned out Saturday night for the 14th Carousel of Hope benefiting children’s diabetes.
Hosted by philanthropist Barbara Davis, the black-tie gala was emceed by Jay Leno and featured performances by Ricky Martin, Toni Braxton and Charlotte Church. The event also included a silent auction of celebrity-decorated plates and other handcrafted items by entertainers.
“You make fun of rich people that are eating. What’s more fun than that?” said Leno of his emcee duties.
Former President Ford and Mrs. Ford shared the red carpet with the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Costner, Anjelica Huston, Whoopi Goldberg, Pierce Brosnan and Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
The gala was also reportedly attended by President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The younger generation of actors also showed support, offering Christian Slater, Thora Birch, Shannon Elizabeth, Selma Blair, Rachael Leigh Cook and Mark Wahlberg.
“You go in, you get to your table and you see who got a better table,” joked Jenny McCarthy, who was making her third appearance at the Carousel of Hope. “And then they serve you some cold food, and then you shmooze, and you watch the event and then they talk about the charity.”
But the true star of the evening was Davis, who, with husband Marvin, founded Carousel of Hope in 1978 and have helped raise $49.5 million for the cause.
“Imagine children riding a carousel,” Barbara Davis said. “There’s a brass ring up there. And our hope is that all the children can reach that brass ring and have the cure for diabetes.”
